


Fourth of July

by EmilliaGryphon



Series: Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Extravaganza [1]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), MCU, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, gotg
Genre: Family, Fireworks, Fluff, Fourth of July, Friendship, Gen, Holidays, Team and family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:07:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19720582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilliaGryphon/pseuds/EmilliaGryphon
Summary: Quill convinces the team to celebrate July 4th





	Fourth of July

“You’re tellin; me that you celebrate your countries independence from one bad guy….after you kicked out everyone who was already livin’ here, doesn’t that make  _ you  _ the bad guys? Quill smacked his hand against his forehead, 

“Yeah, we did. It was a dick move but…”

“Was this before or after you enslaved a bunch of other people?” Drax demanded through a mouthful of chips. 

“Uhhh….during?” 

“During?!” Rocket exploded in laughter, “Quill you're not exactly helpin’ your case here pal.” Drax nodded incessantly. 

“He is right, this is not a noble nation.” 

“Do you know  _ how _ we celebrate the fourth of July?” Quill asked switching tactics. Groot, Gamora, Drax and Rocket cocked their heads in curiosity. The man smiled, letting the anticipation linger for a moment.

“By getting as drunk as possible and blowing shit up!” 

“Well flark it why didn’t you say so?!” Rocket lunged towards the beer cooler.

“Are you serious?” Gamora fixed him with a look of reproach. She couldn’t resist Quill’s dopey grin for long and she allowed herself to be ushered towards the kitchen where Drax was already cracking open a can of Breger’s Brew for Groot. 

“Man I used to love the fourth of July,” he started wistfully taking a slug of the fizzy liquid. “The start of summer, a whole two months of no school. My mom used to take me camping up by the lake near our hometown.” He gazed out the window at the trillions of stars...not quite as mesmerizing as they were from Earth. He took another drink. “That was the best,” his voice trailed off for a moment. A warm touch on his shoulder brought him back. He looked at Gamora and forced a smile, walking down the corridor of the Benetar towards the main hatchway. 

“I am Groot?”

“No flarking clue,” Rocket examined the box of fireworks critically. Quill beamed, quickly crossing the distance between them and picking up the box. 

“You may have seen Terrelian Firepopers, you might have set off Zanabian rockets or shin sparklers none of you have ever seen Earthen fireworks!” Four blank stares looked back at him but he was able to laugh it off. His teammates, well intentioned though they were never quite understood the concepts of many Earth holidays. 

“How’s these fireworks any different from the ones the Ravagers set off?” Rocket planted his hands on his hips, referring to the explosives that the space pirates would release upon the death of a fellow Ravager. 

“Because,” Quill flipped the switch for the hatchway to open behind the protective glass. “You set them off ourselves by hand and it’s even better.” 

“The box says they are only one or two colors,” Rocket wined. “They don’t even change mid blow. How could they possibly…”

“There’s beauty in simplicity Rocket,” he admonished in a sing-song voice. There was no way he was going to let the raccoonoid bring him down. Not today.

“Yeah but,”

“Let him have this,” Gamora hissed lowly. Quill pretended not to hear. 

“Drax grab me that lighter over there,” the tattooed man grappled for one of Rocket’s makeshift lighters. Quill held it precariously to the edge of one of the fireworks, Groot peered over his shoulder in fascination. A fatal attraction if there ever was one. Quill bit his tongue as the spark caught on the tail of the rocket. “Everyone stand back!” 

Rocket seized one of Groot’s gangly arms in both small hands, yanking him backward just in time for the firecracker to take off down the open hatch through the small opening used for releasing access fumes. It made for a heavy wind in the ship but nothing dangerous as long as the oxygen levels were working and it wasn’t open for long. The firecracker spasmed twisting and turning out into the sky. Drax led the way to the nearest window, all five of them pressing up against the glass just in time to watch the fireworks explode into specs of blue. They popped outward expanding until they tempered off into black once more. Peter set off a second one, this time green and fizzing into spirals. He watched Gamora’s eyes go wide, the light reflecting in her eyes. His heart beat giddy, going to set two more of them off. Drax’s mouth opened in wide eyed wonder at the curly cues of white on the next round though his brow furrowed in confusion. Even Groot’s large eyes followed the flecks of color, he grinned as wide as Quill has seen in a long time. He even caught a fleeting glance at Rocket who’s muzzle smiled, though he instantly replaced the glee with glower the moment he caught the human looking at him. 

“I am Groot!” Groot shouted as soon as the latest bout of fireworks faded into smoke. 

“Wooden child,” Drax followed the flora towards the box of explosives. “Are you sure this is wise?” He moved to intercede the teen’s long wooden fingers as he rifled through the box. With a flare of red and a thin hiss Groot leapt backwards just in time. The sparkler fizzed up and out into space. This time the colors were a dazing purple. The next one Gamora lit off was a pectacular pink. Together they continued to set off the last of the firecrackers until each of them had the chance to go multiple times. Groot only got burned twice and they’d had to restrain a drunken Rocket from firing one of his 9 round Kletarian rifles at the remainder of the explosives. 

“Burgers are ready!” Quill hollard some hours later. He sniffed at the burning patties he’d paid way too much to get off world. 

“Your country may be an awful hypocritical place,” Drax shoved handfuls of hamburger into his face, “but this holiday of alcohol consumption and explosives is quite enjoyable. We should celebrate again next year.” 

Quill clinked the neck of his beer bottle against Drax’s over the riffing guitar solo of Born to Run. 

“The U.S. might have done...and continues to do a lot of shit,” he sussed out. “But there are a lot of good people who live there too. And they are working really hard to make it less shitty. Because they believe it can be better. They haven’t given up hope and neither have I.” Not that he really knew, he hadn’t been back home in awhile and it wasn’t like he had the time to tour his old town stops during the battle with Thanos. He watched Gamora swallow down her hamburger with some difficulty, grimacing. He smiled,”and besides. If we never got our Independence we’d never have Bruce Springsteen!”

“I am Groot?” Quill coughed down his burger, shaking his head. 

“He’s the guy we’re literally listening to right now!” Gamora laughed shaking her head, Drax’s loud snorting laughter echoed and even Rocket began to chitter a laugh, so too did Quill join in. he finished the last of his drink and gazed once more out the window. It wasn’t camping...but it was still a pretty great Fourth of July.

\---

Awesome Holiday Mix: Fourth of July

 _Born to Run_ \- Bruce Springsteen

 _Glory Days_ \- Bruce Springsteen

 _Coming to America_ \- Neil Diamond

 _The Times They Are A Changing_ \- Bob Dylan

 _Americans_ \- Janelle Monae

 _Glory_ \- John Legend

 _This is America_ \- Childish Gambino

 _My Country_ \- Nahko and Medicine for the People

“


End file.
